A Brompton cycle from Nijmegen (Holland) to Kleve in Germany

I may have gotten a little lost on this afternoon's cycle from Nijmegen. I went out for a short ride (supposedly!) after a hard day of writing on my dissertation - it has been a productive week!

Alas, I ended up crossing the Rhine River deep into Germany! Past Kranenburg (with its beautiful Cathedral) and Kleve (with its Medieval old city center) to Emmerich am Rhein.

Because I was in Germany I had no cell reception with my Dutch SIM card (completely forgot about that). So, no google maps to get me home.

My rusty German, mixed with Afrikaans and a bit of English saved the day! Ha ha! It was awesome! 71km on my Doris my Brompton - such an awesome little bicycle!

A Brompton ride the Richmond and back

I arrived in London safe and sound just around 7am on Friday the 9th of August. After collecting my luggage and clearing customs (where I had to have the Brompton B bag scanned twice to convince the customs officer that there was nothing untoward in the bag!) I made my way to the lovely flat that I am staying in near Harrods in Kensington.

I unpacked my Brompton and found that it was in perfect condition.  The only little bit of 'repair' that was needed was to bend the front and back mudguards back into their proper place again (obviously when the bag was put in the hold it got a little squashed under some other luggage). I put the clamps back in the bike, pumped the wheels, had a shower and a shave and headed to my first meeting at Elephant and Castle - it was awesome! A quick 7km ride.  See the Endomondo track below.

I had two other meetings on Friday, and cycled to both, and then met my sister in law and a friend in Covent Garden for dinner.  All of the rides were great - although I am still struggling with a bit of a head and chest cold.

This morning I woke up a little later (a good night's sleep after a long flight and a busy day is always welcome). Then I cycled to Hammersmith and back to get some stuff sorted out for my luggage. After that I went for a lovely long ride to Richmond from Kensington (with a bit of Hyde Park at the start), ate a lovely lunch at the Orange pub in Richmond and then cycled back to Kensington (41km - slow, but fun).

Here is the Endomondo track for that ride.

Here are a few pictures from the ride. The Tow Paths along the Thames were not all smooth riding - in some places they were not paved at all.  Then I found few KM's of cobble stone - Paris Roubaix on a Brompton!

Here is a lovely picture of my Black Brooks leather saddle.  They are very comfortable and durable. I have this black one on my M3L and a brown one on my M6L.

One of the great things about a Brompton is that you are allowed to take it to places where most other bicycles would not be allowed! Here's Doris in the 'Orange' pub in Richmond where I stopped for lunch.

This is the business end of my Brompton! I love my little brass bell (helpful when riding in the city - pedestrians seldom look where they are going. A little ring of the bell alerts them that I am coming and keeps them, and me, safe).

A Brompton and some House Boats along the Thames.

This evening I got back to my accomodation and spent a few hours doing some administration, catching up on emails, and doing some preperation for this week's conference at Oxford University. It was wonderful doing a bit of admin knowing that I had just had a lovely day of cycling.

My cold even feels a bit better!

Final tips, advice, and preparation for the Cape Argus cycle tour

If, like me, you're a cyclist with more passion than fitness, then every tip for the Cape Argus 110km cycle tour will be welcome.  I found these great tips on the 'Wanna-B-Team' blog.

I'll do about 2 hours of cycling this week (it's a busy week unfortunately with not much time to ride).

 I've been eating carefully - lots of carbs, very little fat, and lots of liquids.  After riding the Mountain Bike Argus this Sunday I am feeling fantastic!  My legs were not sore today (perhaps that's because I had trained for the 55km but only got to finish 36km before the race was cut short due to heat).

Anyway, I would love to hear any tips and advice you follow, or would like to share, for this weekend's road race!

Don’t train like crazy in the last few days leading up to the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour. A total of four hours of easy cycling during the final week, with a last light training session the day before and a light, carbo-loaded breakfast two hours before starting time, is the best thing to do.

Here is a list of last-minute do's and don’ts for cyclists ahead of the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour:

Don’t train like crazy in the last few days leading up to the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour. A total of four hours of easy cycling during the final week, with a last light training session the day before and a light, carbo-loaded breakfast two hours before starting time, is the best thing to do.
 

Here is a list of last-minute do's and don’ts for cyclists ahead of the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour:
 

What you shouldn't do 

• Leave it to the last minute to do anything major on your bike - cycle shops are simply not going to have capacity for anything tricky. If you've trained with it, you're going to have to ride with it.
• Try and fix the back/knee/ankle problem that had been troubling you - it's too late to make any significant improvement.
• Train like crazy. Too many extra kilometres and hours will have the opposite effect of what you're hoping for: you may be fitter, but you'll also be depleted on race day.
• Climb Chapman's Peak for the first time, at speed - if you're going to climb it for the first time this week, do it very slowly - or in a car. In fact, if you haven't climbed it before, rather wait until the day unless you are a very strong cyclist.
• Eat nothing but carbohydrates between now and the ride.
• Get drunk the night before the tour.
• Leave picking up your race number to the last minute - particularly if you live in Cape Town.
• Buy new equipment/clothing this week and use it on the ride - only ride in tried-and-tested clothes on a tried-and-tested bike.

What you should do in final preparation  

• Ride for about four hours this week – all easy rides, with just a small amount of sprinting.
• Do your last ride on Saturday - an easy ride (no more than one hour) - using the same kit you will ride with on Sunday.
• Prepare yourself mentally for the ride - know that you will relax and enjoy it.
• Check your splits on the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour website - it will give you a good idea of where you have to be and when, in order to achieve your target time. Be realistic.
• Pick your race number up in good time.
• Try and have an early night on Friday - you will sleep better than you will on Saturday.

The night before: the checklist 

• Make sure you have adequate amounts of your favourite carbohydrate drink - put it in the fridge or the freezer the night before.
• Decide what you will take to eat on the ride, and pack it into easy-to-access bags.
• Include suncream sachets
• Pin your race number on and lay out your cycling clothes for easy access in the early morning.
• Make sure that your start and finish cards and your transponder are with your clothes.
• Put your helmet, gloves and sunglasses out at the same time.
• Check your bike - including pumps, spare tubes and puncture repair kits.
• Don't go to bed too early - you won't sleep.
• Make sure you know your starting time and when you need to be in your shute.
• If you are starting late, make sure you know which roads are going to be closed and when, so that you can get to the start on time.
• Programme the medical emergency number into your cellphone: 021 434 1199.

On the morning 

• Eat breakfast about two hours before your start. Eat mainly carbohydrates, and keep it light.
• Apply sunblock just before you leave.
• Take something to eat and drink while waiting to start - again, carbohydrates in both the food and the drink.
• Stretch while you wait to start and try to sit down until you have to go into the main starting shute.

On the ride 

• Keep to the left if you are nervous
• Look in front of you at all times
• Drink enough water, but don't overhydrate
• Enjoy the ride!
• If you need to bail out, move to the side of the road and wait for the sweep vehicle, or stop at any of the official bail-out points. They are the Old Boyes Drive link to Main Road, Dido Valley Road in Simon's Town, immediately before the Naval Gunnery School, refreshment station #9 at the foot of Red Hill, refreshment station #12 at the foot of Chapman's Peak, and the first traffic circle in Hout Bay.
• At the finish, don't come to a dead stop. You'll cause a pile-up.

Update on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 9:16AM by Dr Dion Forster

What race time are you aiming for this year?  Last year in the Cape of Storms Argus tour I rode a 4h58min!  It was a HECTIC ride in the wind.  I hope to do a sub 4 hour this year - it will be a great celebration if it does happen!

I was sent this link to the Garmin site that allows you to see the splits and activity for a sub 4 hour Argus ride.

I joked with my friends and said I would follow the route but just double the times - I'm heading for a sub 8 hour Argus! Don't joke, my wonderful wife once rode 7h30mins!  She hasn't ridden the Argus since...

Be blessed as you prepare for the ride.  It's going to be a fun one - at least the weather has cooled down a bit in Cape Town today.

A little piece of heaven on earth. The single track on the Helderberg mountain

This is one of my favourite places on earth - the start of the single track on the top of the Helderberg mountain. It is about 12km's from my home, of which the last 8 km is a 1000m climb to the top. The ride down is awesome! Lots of switchbacks, lots of technical stuff - I'm convinced that it is some of the nicest singletrack in South Africa.

I meet God here on my bike very often! My head clears, my thoughts become focussed and I find myself drawing nearer to God as I ride.

Sadly I heard that the access to this part of the mountain will soon be restricted. We normally enter about half way up Silverboomkloof road (on the right), then there's a little bit of single track, a short climb and then onto the contour paths on the way up. If there is anyone who has any contacts with someone on this farm PLEASE drop me a line! I would love to be able to keep the access open!

I recently read about a guy who started a 'braai church' (a 'cookout' Church, where people gather once a week to try out new recipes, cook different kinds of meat, but of course also to share their lives with one another, have some prayer and learn a few things about their faith).  I often think of this as the Church of Cycling, or my Cycling Church!  I have a lot of time to share with the guys and ladies that we ride with.  I often pray with people, offer a listening ear and some encouragement.

How do you connect with God?